Heroes: "The Wall"Review

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Can Peter retrieve Sylar? Does Samuel turn Claire?

By Robert Canning

There were a few things in "The Wall" that I really enjoyed, while other portions left me disappointed or, worse, annoyed. This has been typical of the series of late. They continue to have some good ideas, but have been unable to execute the best of these ideas to their fullest potential. Usually the blame can go to packing too much into one episode, but "The Wall" actually did a good job of streamlining the storytelling. Trouble was, one of the stories seemed highly unnecessary.

Samuel used one of his flock to open up Noah Bennet's memories for Claire to see. It was Bennet's origin story. We learned that he had a wife before Sandra and was about to start a family. But this all came shattering down when a thug with a power killed his pregnant wife during a home invasion. This sent Bennet down a dark path as he sought out specials looking for his wife's killer. It was all fairly interesting, if a bit clich&#Array;d. I'm not sure we especially needed this new layer to Bennet's backstory, but so be it. What really confused me was what Samuel's purpose was in revealing this to Claire. How was this going to change her point of view of her father and turn her to the dark side?

As the flashback continued, we saw how Thompson (a returning Eric Roberts) recruitedBennet into the Company, and then later how he encouraged Noah to start a family. This might have been the big reveal Samuel thought would turn Claire, and indeed the young woman did get accusatory with her father. And then we saw that Bennet had threatened Gretchen… in an attempt to rescue his daughter. None of this was really a big deal, and even after storming out on her father, Claire mocked Samuel for ever thinking she would turn on the man that has shown her nothing but love and devotion. Claire also pointed out that Samuel's attempt only helped prove Bennet did not shoot up the carnival, as no memory existed of it. So though the flashbacks were interesting, Samuel's ultimate goal was elusive and this new knowledge changed nothing.

The better half of the episode was Peter and Sylar spending time alone trapped in Sylar's subconscious. Again, the series needed to figure out a way to keep Sylar involved with our main characters. Peter once wanted nothing but to kill Sylar, but now he needs the man who killed his brother to save Emma and thousands of others. Trapping the pair together in isolation, for what seemed like years to them, was a good way to change their dynamic. I only wish the entire episode could have been dedicated to this one idea. By cutting back and forth between other action, the sense of isolation and expanse of time never fully resonated. A good story was still told, but it could have been great. Still, I'm quite satisfied with Sylar's repentance and Peter's acceptance that he's a changed man.

Elsewhere, small annoyances hinder the episode. When Samuel was telling Lauren that his people deserved respect and admiration, and they would get it through force, I could only think about how much easier it would be if they helped people instead. You know, be super heroes. It would make the series more fun to watch, too. I was also annoyed by how Lauren just sort of escaped off screen from the Replicating Man. I guess that was the easiest way to free her up for something else, and free him up to confront Peter and Sylar. The cliffhanger was good, as it will be interesting to see how Claire and her father will escape their buried trailer. Still, with the finale just around the corner, "The Wall" could have built a stronger momentum going into the final episode.